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RECENT BLOG POSTS

It Was Before Its Time – A Curious Modern Vase
The Georgian Box & The Drag Queen
Lost Studio Glass Artists I – William Warehall
Scary Sculpture? Actually, Arctic Art!
Elizabeth Allen – A Patchwork Picture
My Georgian Office Chair Refreshed – Comfort & Correct
Fake Tiffany. Don’t Always Trust Marks!
Twins Seven-Seven & Nigerian Modern Art

ABOUT MARK HILL :

Mark is an author, publisher, TV presenter, and the leading specialist dealer in postwar Czechoslovakian glass. He has been an expert on the BBC Antiques Roadshow since 2007, and co-presented four primetime TV shows on antiques, collecting and interiors for BBC2, including two series of Collectaholics. Mark lectures widely and is an Arts Society (NADFAS) accredited lecturer, a member of The British Antiques Dealers’ Association, and a Freeman of the City of London.

Member of The British Antique Dealers’ Association

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MARK'S INSTAGRAM

markhillantiques

Filming at yesterday’s @bbcantiquesroadshow at P

Filming at yesterday’s @bbcantiquesroadshow at Portchester Castle, the last filming location for the upcoming series. And one of my favourites too, with some sensational items!
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(Photo by and thanks to the supremely elegant and charming @aminjaffer_curator)

Flea market find today. A gory and rather well-exe

Flea market find today. A gory and rather well-executed watercolour or gouache. 19th century, I guess. There’s a story to discover here…

It’s always sad to see a local restaurant go. Es

It’s always sad to see a local restaurant go. Especially after these hard 18 months and when it was as fun and fabulous as @hellodarlinglondon. We went to the ‘clear out’ sale of fixtures and fittings the week before last and it was crazy. Crazy good. The place was packed with trendy young things buying vintage and antique to take back to their homes. Never let anyone tell you that nobody young is interested in old stuff. What did I buy? From the little that was left by the time I got there, an antler roundel. Or chandelier without the lights. Or frame. Whatever. I dunno. But I like it and will find something for it to do!

Up next on our ex-Pride weekend was a visit to the

Up next on our ex-Pride weekend was a visit to the ‘Queer Art Boot Fair’ in Peckham organised by @mocalondon_we. An amazing selection, super friendly and a chance to support artists who have had a dreadful time over these past 18 months. As well as seeing my talented and lovely friend @al3xjw, I was lucky enough to get my portrait sketched by the equally talented and charming @a_d_a_m_h_e_n_n_e_s_s_e_y. He set himself the challenge of doing it in 15 minutes. I absolutely love it!

No Pride in London this year! Understandably, for

No Pride in London this year! Understandably, for sure. But my partner and I missed it, so had a ‘gay’ weekend with some of the events that survived it. First up was the wonderful Henry Scott Tuke exhibition @wattsgallery, which closes on 12th September. I used to escape to the Watts Gallery as a Symbolist-obsessed history of art student. It was my hiding place amongst gorgeous art. I shed a tear of joy when I saw how it has been transformed since the 90s. The Tukes were wonderful. Particularly ‘July Sun’ from 1913, an essay in how to model form with colour. Stunning.

More proof that the late studio glass artist Sam H

More proof that the late studio glass artist Sam Herman’s star is rising again. Sold today for over £2,700 and £2,100 respectively at today’s @woolleyandwallisdesign auction of the collection of David Coachworth & Peter Myers. Bravo!

I’m a fan of, but not at all an expert in, triba

I’m a fan of, but not at all an expert in, tribal art. I always admire it, but worry about the ranks of ‘old-looking’ pieces I see all too frequently - and I can’t afford the good stuff! But I’d never, ever seen a figure with four faces before. Two, yes. Three, I think so. But not four. He’s carved very rudimentarily, and wonderfully worn so clearly has some age. I need to do more research, but he may have been a type of guardian, with one face looking out in the four compass directions. As for the tribe who carved him, I have no idea. So, for the time being, I shall guard him!

A charming souvenir from our Summer break in Yorks

A charming souvenir from our Summer break in Yorkshire. I love textile art and rather fell for this small Victorian silkwork picture of what may or may not be the Yorkshire Wolds. Landscape silkworks are arguably more unusual than religious, moralistic or figural scenes. I love the tightly stitched details such as the shade under the trees, the colours in the fields, and the wispy clouds. The colours are still strong and fresh, and it’s still in its original frame with an original reverse painted glass mount. Am I going too far by saying that there’s something almost proto-Impressionist about it?! Whatever, after reading the ink inscription on the back, I like the idea of G. Kathleen Goddard carefully stitching this ‘en plein air’ as a gift for her friend H.M. Elms. A near two-centuries-old glimpse and a bargain at £20 from the wonderful @skiptonantiquescentre

I love studio glass. Especially the early stuff fr

I love studio glass. Especially the early stuff from the 1960s & 70s that revels in colour, experimentation and the mercurial medium itself. I’ve always thought Pauline Solven, who made this bowl around 1970, is under-rated. One of the first pupils of studio glass pioneer and teacher @samhermanstudio at the @royalcollegeofart, she preferred to work entirely alone. I consider myself lucky that one day, years ago, she let me watch her work, and explained some of her inspirations to me. Keep an eye on her work and, indeed, the whole area of studio glass.

More Art Nouveau glass discovered in Yorkshire! Hu

More Art Nouveau glass discovered in Yorkshire! Hugged by Floppy the Steiff lamb is an early 1920s Josef Riedel for Max Köck acid-etched cameo glass vase. Love the colours!! Following on from my lovely little Loetz discovery the day before - see my previous post. Who’d have thunk it?!

Perched on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors,

Perched on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, an antiques shop from before the before times. Ramshackle, friendly, tumbledown, every view entirely new - fantastic. After 20 mins of sliding down narrow corridors, shimmying past Victorian and Georgian furniture in various states of decay, lifting, looking, lighting my way with my iPhone torch…a cabinet. And a little hidden treasure for me within - an Art Nouveau iridescent vase by Loetz, made over a century ago around 1900-10. Antiquing like it used to be!

Stunningly wonderful day @loseley_park for the @as

Stunningly wonderful day @loseley_park for the @asfairs Decorative Home & Antiques Fair and launching the @world_of_ronati partnership with @decorative_collective and @hoarde_vintage. Wonderful friends, meeting people, wonderful objects - and more. So grateful. The show is on this weekend 10th & 11th July 2021 - go find your treasure and pleasure!

Posted @withregram • @decanterman 8. Mark Hill l

Posted @withregram • @decanterman 8. Mark Hill launching his book with an exhibition at one of the fairs.

The Cambridge & National glass fairs have just joined the terrible list of Covid casualties. Established about 20 years ago by Christina Glover & Paul Bishop, they officially folded last week.

This is, first, because they can’t get Covid cancellation insurance. And, ‘secondly, our last fair was in November 2019. Since then many of our dealers have given up trading & we do not think we will be able to replace enough of them to make a decent event.’

It is very sad news. Christina & Paul worked tirelessly on the fair for very little return & yet were always welcoming & generous hosts. I attended their fairs regularly over many years, usually squeezing into dark corners to photograph exhibitors’ stock.

The fairs’ closure is a 100% no-win.

!. They offered superb opportunities for beginners to gain hands-on experience & learn from well-informed vendors as well as to collectors plugging gaps.

2. Their foyer exhibitions offered rare opportunities to admire & learn from fine private collections. Their subject matter ranged from 17thc goblets & Victorian pressed, & from Harry Powell’s ‘Glass With Histories’ [Whitefriars], c1880-1914, to mid-century Czech ‘Sklo Union’ Brutalism.

3. The fairs also offered forums to its strange assemblage of guests to meet, moan & marvel. But we not only met friends there, but we also made new ones.

A shame.

#glassetc #andymcconnell #decanterman #greatglass #thedecanterancienttomodern #antiquesroadshow #glassisgreat #cambridgeglassfair # #decanter #contemporaryglass #studioglass #britishglass #antiqueglass #nationalglassfair #professorcheeky

New painting installed high up on the stairwell, v

New painting installed high up on the stairwell, viewable from the top landing. Dated (19)73, but no idea who painted it as I can’t read the signature (swipe to see it). It feels Italian or Southern French. I love the very unusual colours, the technique and the 👀. A real looker. And a keeper.

Found at the always excellent @soulbirdbytanya at @hampsteadantiqueemporium

Mystery pot bought today, and photographed over sn

Mystery pot bought today, and photographed over snacks in St James’ Park. Sort of Surrealist, painterly, and good marks! Any ideas?

If I asked you when you thought this vase had been

If I asked you when you thought this vase had been made, what would you say?
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Answer on my blog. Link in bio.

I adore chilled white wine on a hot day. And nothi

I adore chilled white wine on a hot day. And nothing can beat using a tool that has opened thousands of bottles (and conversations!) across two centuries. Delighted to find this fabulously battered Henshall-type straight pull corkscrew from around 1820 @cambsantiques today for £10. Functional, and it shows that those Georgians sure knew how to drink! Imagine the gossip this old dear has heard!

The Georgian box and the drag queen. Painstakingly

The Georgian box and the drag queen. Painstakingly painted for hours, used for decades, treasured for centuries, bought for less than the cost of a round of drinks - and then lost and found in mere minutes. I wonder what the original Georgian owner would have thought?! Read the short story on my blog. Link in bio.

Super grateful for this incredibly kind gift from

Super grateful for this incredibly kind gift from a dear friend this evening. I can’t wait to read about Channon’s adventures, especially given quotes such as "Lady xxxx is showing her age, she looked like a ferret who had gone wild in a Cartier shop" 😂

That’s the way to do it! Tune into this Sunday’s @bbcantiquesroadshow at 7pm on 23rd May 2021 to see what this is all about, and much, much more!!
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Photo by and with thanks to @bbcantiquesroadshow

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